Tubular rail member



1952 w. H. NEELY TUBULAR RAIL MEMBER Filed Sept. 21, 1949 v 7 IINVJENTOR. HILL/RH H-NE'QLY Patented Jam 8, 1 9.52

UNITED STATES EATENT OFFICE TUBULAR RAILMEMBE-R William .Neiy, Cleveland, :Qh'iq, ss to- The Universal Wire Spring Company, Cleve 'lanmflhio, a corporation of Ohio :Application iSeptember 21, 19429, Serial'No. 116,419?

including hook-shaped means adapted to engage one (of the straight -wire portions of a sinuously corrugated wire' spring :-for supporting the spring at a -point spaced-tram t-theend thereof, and coop er-at-ing locating and locking means arranged to engage one of 131181100135 ofasuch wire spring i-arrangedadjacent to the saidstraight wire portion thereof to locate the spring, :lock same in proper position, andpermit quick, easy mounting and demounting of :such .spring.

Another-object of the invention .is the provision of a rail rmemberadapted .to mountsinuously corrugated wire springs, the rail member including a portion provided with hook-shaped means adapted 'tozengage one ofthe straight wire por tions of a .sinuously corrugated wire spring .for supporting the spring at apoint spaced fromithe end thereof, and cooperating locating and locking means on said portion adapted to engage one of the loops adjacent to the said straight wire porg cla s; (oi. 155-479.)

tion of such spring, to ,locate the spring and lock same in proper position. t

A further object of the invention is the provision ofa tubular rail 'memberformounting sinuouslyncorrugated wire springs, the rail, member Inithadrawing: I Fig. ,1 ;is,..a perspective view of a rail member constructed intaccor dancewith the invention, the

rail imember mounting the upper portion of a sinuously corrugated "wire spring; ".=Fig. :2 is a front view of the rail membershown Fig. .1.; Fig. [3 TiS a sectional view :on line 33 of Fig. 2; and.

Fig.4 is va sectional =viewt0n line 4-4 of'jFig. .2. Referring more :in. detail to 'the exemplified Liar-m of the invention shown in. the vdrawing. reference :numeral :2 denotes -;a tubular rail mom.-

1 car which is assembled :fromtwoelongated sheet metal striped and :4 of .Z-shaped cross section. Trese sheet :metal strips "which each include a rtoaving integrally extended from opposite edges :thereof flanges 96 and '1, :of which flange '5 is substantially wider thantflange I, are secured to each other in inverted position so that the narrower flangerof one strip is positioned opposite the 'widerflange 6 .of the otherstrip. Theresulting tubular rail :member :is :formed with a tubular bodyiiprovidedwith reinforcing flanged portions 9 and 1H) :extended :f-rom body '8. .One of the flanged portions, to 'wit flanged portion 9, is formed .withzhook-shaped means ll and locating and lockingmeans [2. The hook-shaped means 111 which permit attachment of sinuously "corrugated springs 13 'to flanged portion 9, when a being assembled .from two substantially symmet portion aid-wand laterally offsetting such ton ue rically shaped sheet metal strips having Z-shap'ed cross :section, the strips ,being engaged with each other in inverted position and one of said strips including at one side edge an offset portion providing saidrail member with..,hool;.shaped means adapted to engage one of thestraight vvire portions of a wire spring for supporting same, and furthermore including -a pair of cooperating locating and locking means arranged to engageione ofthe loops of the sinuously ieorrugated wire straight acrossrmember M of such wire spring .is engaged with .said hook-shaped means, is formed by cutting widerjflange :6 of strip -atjpredetermined-places :to provide suchgfiange with .a tongue portion. he;width :of tongue portion J5 ;is approximately equal :to the length of the straight cross gmem-bers l'4'L0fESiI1l10US1Y corrugated wire springs I13 and theroffset of :said tongue portion .is approximately equal to the gage of the wire of springidpo as to-properly seat the cross ,members between tongue portion !.5 and the :narrower flange J @of $t'1ip .3. The locating and locking means .12 which r-efiects locating and locking of springs 13 by engagement -with one of its loops from said tongue portion, permit quick and ready i 3 demou'nting of the spring from the rail member by slight forcible downward tilting of the said loop I 6 over protuberance I! to permit lateral movement of the spring toward the right and then removal of the spring from the tongue portion I by pulling such spring out of the seat formed by the tongue portion. Mounting of the spring is effected by reversing the steps delineated above. 7

The described tubular rail member can readily be used for constructing so-called open frames for seat and back constructions, or elongated portions of these tubular rail members can directly be attached to a supporting member as for example the frame structure of an automobile.

Having thus described my invention:

What I claim is:

l. A rail member for supporting sinuously corrugated wire springs comprising a body having one edge out at spaced places and the portion between said cuts bent to form a hook-shaped supporting means adapted to seat one of the loopconnecting' cross members of a sinuously corrugated Wire spring, and a pair of cooperating spaced locating and holding means on said body arranged adjacent to one cut in the edge thereof adapted to engage opposite sides of the wire of a wire loop of such sinuously corrugated wire spring and prevent lateral shifting of such loop.

2. A rail member as described in claim 1, having said pair of spaced locating and holding means positioned so that'a line through said pair of spaced locating and holding means angularly intersects a line through the seat formed by said hook-shaped supporting means.

l 3. A rail member as described in claim 2 wherein said pair of spaced locating and holding means for the wire of said wire loop of said sinuously corrugated wire includes a protuberance and a stop member arranged in spaced relation with respect to said protuberance.

4. A rail member for supporting sinuously corrugated wire springs comprising a tubular body, reinforcing flanges extended from said body in opposite directions, hook-shaped supporting means in one of said flanges adapted to seat one of the loop-connecting cross members of a sinuously corrugated wire spring and a pair of spaced locating and holdin means on said one flange adjacent to one side of said supporting means adapted to engage opposite sides of the wire of a wire loop of such sinuously corrugated wire spring and prevent lateral shifting of such loop.

5, A rail member for supporting sinuously corrugated wire springs comprising a tubular body, reinforcing flanges extended from opposite sides 6. A rail member for supporting sinuously corrugated wire springs comprising two elongated metal strips of Z-shaped cross section assembled to form a tubular body having flanges extended therefrom in opposite directions, hook-shaped supporting means in one of said flanges adapted to seat a loop-connecting cross member of a sinuously corrugated wire spring, and a pair of spaced locating and holding means on said one flange arranged to engage opposite sides of the wire of a wire loop of such sinuously corrugated wire spring and hold such loop to prevent lateral shifting of the spring.

7. A rail member for supporting sinuously corrugated wire springs comprising elongated metal strips of Z-shaped cross section assembled to a tubular body with flanges extended therefrom in opposite directions, open hook-shaped supporting means for a sinuously corrugated spring arranged in one of said flanges by cutting the edge thereof in spaced places and shaping the cut portion to a support for a sinuously corrugated wire spring when seating ,.one of its loop-connecting straight portions in said supporting means, and a pair of spaced, loop-engaging and holding members on said one flange arranged adjacent to one side thereof to engage opposite sides of the wire of a loop of said spring adjacent to its supported loop-connecting straight portion.

8. A rail member as described in claim '7, wherein the loop-engaging and holding members on the said one flange of said body are formed in one of the Z-shaped strips and consists of a protuberance and a lateral extension spaced from said protuberance approximately the diameter of the wire of the sinuously corrugated wire springs to be supported by said rail member.

9. A rail member for supporting sinuously corrugated wire springs comprising elongated metal strips of Z-shaped cross section assembled to a tubular body with flanges extended therefrom'in opposite directions, said Z-shaped metal strips including a web portion having extended therefrom two flanges one of which is wider than the other one, one of said metal strips including in its wider flange an outwardly offset portion adapted engaging and holding means adapted to engage of said body, hook-shaped means in one of said opposite sides of the wire of the loop adjacent to a supported loop-connecting straight portion of a sinuously corrugated wire spring.

WILLIAM H. NEELY.

REFERENCES CITED UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Menge Dec. 26, 1939 Number 

